by Tia Wylder
“I’ll start looking for her immediately, and you’ll be the first to know as soon as I find something.”
“Jessica?”
She was almost to the door, but at the sound of her name, she turned around. “What?”
“Do you think there’s any chance that she’s…”
“Dead?”
I winced.
Jessica shrugged. Her expression had gone back to clinical coldness. “Maybe,” she said. “But for your sake, I hope not.” With that, she turned and left my room.
I stared up at the ceiling and thought a silent prayer to the heavens that my wife was safe. If anything happened to her – anything at all – I knew that I’d never been able to live with myself.
Chapter 13
Gianna
I had no way of telling time in that cheap little motel room. The shades were drawn tightly down over the windows, obscuring the light outside. There was no way of knowing where I was, or what time of day it was, or just when someone was going to come and tell me why they’d kidnapped me.
I shuddered. It could be anything. A deranged fan, a jealous co-star?
Or something worse?
And what did they want with me? Why did they want me so badly they’d chased us through the twisting California roads, threatening both of our lives?
However much time had passed, it was enough to fill my head with some of the worst scenarios I had ever imagined. I wasn’t just afraid for me – I was afraid for Barnes, too. What had happened to him? Had he died in the car crash? Had someone taken him, too? The thought that he might be captive in the same dingy hotel as I was like torture. Oh, god, Barnes, please be okay, I thought as I squirmed and twisted in the chair.
I’d lost all feeling in my hands and feet some time ago, but the ropes still burned my wrists and ankles every time I tried to free myself. After the initial panic had set in, I’d tried to stay calm, but it was hard when there were so many unknown variables at hand.
Part of me was furious with Barnes. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn and foolish, I might never have been kidnapped. We might be back in our luxurious Los Angeles home, snuggling together on the couch. But deep down, I was merely sick with worry. All I wanted was to see Barnes again, to know that he was okay and that we’d be fine in the end.
The pain seemed to grow more intense with each passing hour. My head ached, and I began to worry that being tied up so uncomfortably would give me lasting nerve damage. My mouth was so dry that underneath the duct tape, my tongue and lips were torn, and I had a feeling my skin looked horrible. When I glanced down at my feet, I saw they were dirty and scabbed.
What had happened? Had someone dragged me from the wreckage of the car? And where was I? Malibu? Los Angeles?
Or somewhere far more terrifying? Oakland?
Was I even still in California?
I had no way of knowing. And somehow, that knowledge was the worst of all.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I thought of the breathing exercises I’d learned in an acting class, and focused on inhaling and exhaling. Inhale deeply, exhale deeply, I thought, forcing the words to repeat over and over in my brain. But the breathing technique didn’t work its usual magic, and I felt myself starting to hyperventilate. I was so dehydrated that I felt delirious and exhausted, but it was hard to sleep.
Maybe I can drift off for a little while, I thought. The idea was terrifying – what if something happened to me while I was asleep?
But then again, it wasn’t like I’d be able to defend myself in a state of wakefulness. The secure ropes around my wrists and ankles weren’t budging.
Nodding my head to the side, I closed my eyes. Just a little while, I repeated. And maybe when I wake up, I’ll finally have some answers.
To my surprise, I found myself growing sleepier by the minute. Just as I was almost in a state of light sleep, I heard a loud bang. The sound startled me awake, and I moved my mouth to gasp, but the duct tape held my lips painfully together.
The sound of a female voice reached my ears, and I strained towards the sound, trying to shift my body so I could move the chair across the floor. The legs of the chair wobbled but didn’t give, and new tears of frustration welled up in my eyes. The voice was getting closer and closer, and a bubble of hope swelled in my chest.
There’s someone outside the room, and if they hear me, they could help! I thought frantically. Beneath my makeshift gag, I started whimpering as loudly as I could, hoping to be heard. Even if it was just a hotel maid, she could still help me to a phone and make my way out of this hellhole.
The voice grew steadily louder, and I started whining loudly and trying to talk loudly under the duct tape. A steady stream of noise bubbled from my mouth and I shifted my body until the chair hopped briefly on the floor, crashing down hard with enough force to send pain shooting up my spine.
When the door to the room swung open, I sighed with relief. Finally, I thought triumphantly. Someone heard me, and they’re going to help me get out of here!
To my surprise, the person standing before me wasn’t a maid. She was a petite woman with a tidy knot of blonde hair at the nape of her neck, and even in the dim light of the room, I could tell that it wasn’t her natural color. Her brown eyes looked as sharp as a hawk’s, and there was something about the way she carried herself that filled me with apprehension.
I whimpered through the duct tape at her, expecting her to be shocked at the sight of a young woman gagged and bound to a chair. But to my surprise, the woman’s thin lips curled into a faint, cruel smile.
“You’re awake,” she said.
A cold chill of fear ran down my spine, and I whimpered in fright. The woman crossed the room and grabbed the edge of the duct tape from my cheek, ripping it painfully off my face.
“Please,” I begged. “Please help me. Please let me go!”
The woman stepped back. She crossed her narrow arms over her chest. It was so strange – she was petite and slender enough to resemble a doll, but the look on her face was more frightening than gazing into the face of a serial killer.
She laughed softly. “Gianna, tell me – why would I let you go when I’m the reason why you’re here?”
I ran my dry tongue over my cracked lips and shivered. “What? What are you talking about?”
The woman snorted and stepped forward. “You actresses really are stupid,” she said casually, blinking at me in a poor imitation of flirtation. “You really have no idea why you’re here?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not stupid,” I said. “And all I know is that someone was stalking me.”
“Yes,” the woman said. “And your idiot of a husband was too stupid to go to the police.” She shrugged. “Gianna, it’s almost like you thought nothing bad could seriously happen.”
I glared at her. “Fuck you,” I said. “I told him I was afraid!”
“And what did he do?”
I sighed.
“Gianna, I’m not here to hurt you,” the woman said. She stepped around me, and I felt the chair being turned on the floor to face the hotel bed. It had been slept in – the covers were strewn about, and a pillow had fallen on the floor. Knowing I’d been tied up all night long while a complete stranger slumbered right next to me was terrifying.
“You’ve already done that,” I said with a groan, trying to stretch in my bonds. “I can’t feel my hands. Or my feet.”
The woman sat on the edge of the bed and winced. “Well, there was bound to be some discomfort,” she said. “But can’t you guess why I’m here, Gianna?”
I stared at her. She was very pretty but too old to be an aspiring actress. And with her obviously expensive tailored suit, she looked professional. From the way she talked, I wondered if she was a lawyer.
“I don’t know,” I said finally. “I…I thought it was some crazy fan, or maybe another actress was jealous of me.”
The woman threw her head back and laughed. “No,” she said, shaking her head. Her smile faded
. “My name is Jessica Norris. I’m a private investigator.”
“What?” I squinted at her. “Why would someone want to hire a private investigator to find me? Are you the same person who has been photographing me? And what about the car chase?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “You’ve seen too many movies, Gianna,” she said. “No, of course I wasn’t directly involved in either of those.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I have a whole team of staff working for me.”
“So, you hired someone to stalk me?” I gasped, feeling betrayed. “Why? Why am I so interesting to you?”
Jessica snorted. “Trust me, you’re not,” she said. “But my client was very particular and very aggressive.”
Her words made my stomach cramp with fear.
“Here,” Jessica said. She reached inside an expensive alligator handbag and pulled out a bottle of spring water. Just the sight of it was enough to make me start drooling. Jessica untwisted the cap, then held the bottle to my lips. “Not too quickly,” she warned. “I had an IV in your arm last night so you wouldn’t become dehydrated, but I wouldn’t want you to get sick?”
Gasping in horror, I looked down at my arm. Sure enough, there was a slight needle mark in the crook of my elbow.
“You drugged me?”
Jessica shrugged. “I had to,” she said. “I couldn’t risk having you become so dehydrated that you needed medical assistance. My client was very specific – you’re to be returned home at once.”
She held the bottle to my lips and tilted it slightly so a trickle of water flowed into my mouth. I drank greedily, swallowing gulp after gulp until I felt like my stomach would burst. When Jessica took the bottle away, I was shocked to see that I’d finished the whole thing.
“So, you can take me home?” I asked skeptically. “Home to my husband?”
Jessica laughed. “No, Gianna. Home to Boston.”
“Boston?” I squinted at her. “I…I don’t live there.”
Jessica sighed. “Gianna, your parents hired me to find you and bring you back,” she said.
“No!” I shouted. “There’s no fucking way I’m going back there! I’m an adult, you can’t make me!”
“Yes,” Jessica said primly. “And has anyone ever told you just how adult you sound when you say something so ridiculous?” She shook her head. “I know practically everything about you, Gianna. You’re twenty-five years old, and you don’t even know how to function in the real world. Everyone has always taken care of you.”
“That isn’t true,” I said.
“You had your parents, and then you had Barnes,” Jessica said. “Which, by the way, your parents are extremely upset about. They wish to annul the marriage at once, making you eligible for the man they’ve chosen.”
I felt like I’d walked off the set of Heaven Cove and straight into a science-fiction movie.
“Gianna? Are you listening to me?”
“This can’t possibly be real,” I replied. “There’s no way.”
“And why not?”
“Because this is the twenty-first century,” I exclaimed. “And I’m a married woman. I’m not going to let my parents have my marriage annulled!”
Jessica got to her feet and frowned. “Well, then I hope you’ll consider the consequences if you don’t return to Boston,” she said.
“What? That I stay happy with my husband and my career?” I blinked at her. “I’m completely happy here. Why on earth would I go back?”
“Because if you don’t, the assets your father set aside for you will be frozen. Your bank account – yes, the one under your own name – will be frozen. Your father has powerful allies, don’t forget.”
The words came like a punch to the gut, but I shook my head.
“Barnes will always take care of me,” I said. “He loves me. That’s what you don’t seem to get – I married for love! I’m happy!”
“Your father is prepared to offer Barnes a lump sum of five billion dollars if he leaves you,” Jessica replied.
“He’d never do that,” I said fiercely. “Barnes loves me.”
“And then there’s the tabloid story,” Jessica continued. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small folder. When she opened it, I saw photographs in a neat stack.
“The tabloids don’t care about me. I’ve never done anything wrong,” I replied. “I sunbathed naked in Malibu, and if anything, I think the producer of Heaven Cove would be pleased with the publicity.”
“Oh, no,” Jessica said. “Not anything you’ve actually done.” Her cruel smile returned, and I realized that this woman was seriously deranged.
“What?” My heart thudded with dread. “What do they have?”
Jessica’s smile grew a shade wider. “Why not look for yourself?”
Biting my lip, I looked down. To my horror, I saw a variety of images – all fabricated – with my face and body Photoshopped into the picture. There was one that featured seven naked people, all in various states of sex with one another. Another photo showed ‘me’ in a porn shoot.
“This is horrible!” I said. “I can’t believe my parents would do this!”
“They want you to be an obedient daughter, Gianna,” Jessica said. Her voice, although sharp, was almost soothing in the same way that I imagined a good psychiatrist to sound. “And you have a chance – you can agree to return home to Boston, and leave Barnes, and your parents continue to allow you to access your money, as well as protecting your reputation.”
I swallowed. I knew that no matter what happened – no matter what threat or demand my crazy parents made, I’d never leave. But Jessica was a hard bitch, and I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to untie me until I agreed.
“Think about it,” Jessica said. “I can leave you here until you make your decision.”
I closed my eyes and thought of Barnes. I thought of my life in LA.
“I’ll do it,” I said, opening my lids and staring Jessica down. “Just untie me.”
Jessica nodded. “I’m pleased, Gianna. You’ve made the right decision.” She stepped closer with a pair of wire-cutters in her hand. “After I untie you, I’ll have one of my men drive you directly to the airport.”
I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding like a drum, and I shivered despite the warm, tepid air of the hotel room. “Okay,” I said.
It was all I could say. Unless I could think of something to do – and fast – I was three ways fucked from Sunday.
When Jessica snipped the ropes holding my wrists, I groaned in pain. My arms hurt tremendously but I managed to lift my hands into my lap, and I started massaging them in a desperate attempt to get the blood flowing again. Jessica cut the ropes around my ankles.
“Before we go, I have to use the bathroom,” I said in what I hoped was a calm voice.
Jessica gave me a suspicious look. “Less than five minutes,” she said. “My driver is already outside.”
“You’re not coming to Boston?”
Jessica laughed. “Gianna, I’m based in Los Angeles,” she said. “Your parents hired me remotely.”
My feet were numb, and I hobbled to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. As soon as I was inside, I turned the faucets on and sat down on the closed seat of the toilet. Think, Gianna, think! I ordered myself. There has to be something you can do!
“Gianna, hurry up!” Jessica called. She rapped on the other side of the door. “It’s been five minutes!”
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. Getting to my feet, I flushed the toilet for effect and washed my hands before drying them on the moldy-looking towel that hung over the back of the door.
“I’m ready,” I said opening the door and stepping back into the room.
Jessica smiled at me. “Good,” she said. “Let me just grab my bag.”
As soon as she turned around, I knew that was my chance to strike. Leaping forward, I swung my leg through the air and tripped her down to the floor. Jessica cried out and tried to dodge, but she wasn’t quick enough,
and she crashed down with a painful-sounding thud.
“Gianna, stop!” Jessica yelled. “Stop it!”
Crouching over her, I pinned her to the ground with one hand and swung my fist through the air. When my hand connected with her cheek, Jessica’s head snapped back, and blood spurted from her mouth.
“I’m never going back to Boston!” I growled, punching her again in the eye. Jessica cried out. Her body twitched on the floor, and I realized I’d knocked her out.
“So don’t try to keep me here,” I muttered, getting to my feet and wiping my hands on my thighs. It was crazy – I’d never so much as slapped someone before, and now I’d just beaten the crap out of another woman. The adrenaline was flowing powerfully through my veins, and my heart was thudding in my chest.
